5 ‘How I Met Your Mother’ philosophies we’re still living by

How I Met Your Mother has been over for a while now, but these philosophies from the series will stick with us forever.

How I Met Your Mother was a treasure trove of ridiculous theories/rules/philosophies that were sometimes (usually) strangely applicable to real life. Largely thanks to Barney Stinson, the show coined so many terms that you just can’t help but carry with you, in your day to day life! Here are some of the How I Met Your Mother philosophies that still affect us the most, even years later.

From the moment I heard this rule, I adopted it. Whether it’s dealing with relationships, buying plane tickets, replying to important emails, suddenly deciding that I do want to go to that party, or messaging someone to tell them I miss them… if it’s after 02:00, I shouldn’t do it.

Of course things look appealing when it’s dark outside, all reasonable people are asleep, and I’m having that last rush of energy before the bedtime crash, but I try to think of Nasim from the Future. What will she say tomorrow morning, when she wakes up and realizes what I’ve done? Shouldn’t I be more considerate before signing her up for something she may not want as much as I do?

In these cases it’s best to just go to sleep. If you really should do that thing you want to do, you can do it in the morning. Like Ted learns, nothing good happens after 2 A.M.

I’ll soon be moving across the country, so my graduation goggles are firmly glued to my face. If you, like me, suffer from the dreaded “graduation goggles,” no matter how much you loathe something, you will definitely feel nostalgic for it when faced with the idea of leaving it behind.

That one hour wait in traffic to get to work that I cursed for years? It really did have a certain beauty to it. The way that coworker clears their throat every 10 minutes? Music to my ears. My aged apartment building? It suddenly seems as beautiful and magical as Hogwarts. How could I ever part with it? On second thought, maybe I’ll just stay…

Sometimes it’s just easier if you don’t have to explain. That’s why I was ecstatic when How I Met Your Mother introduced the “No Questions Asked” rule. With this rule, you have the ability to ask your friends/family for any favor, “no questions asked,” as long as you understand that you’ll owe them the same, when the time comes.

I called in quite a few of these while participating in GISHWHES, and in countless other fandom related circumstances. When you need someone to meet you at the post office, tape you into a box, and attempt to mail you, it helps if there aren’t any pesky questions getting in the way. As long as you’re willing to do what it takes when you’re called upon, a “No Questions Asked” agreement is a valuable addition to any friendship.

The “glass shattering” moment in HIMYM is the best and worst bit I took away from the series. In a nutshell, the “glass shattering” moment is a specific moment in time where you realize a habit or quirk of a fellow human being that you cannot un-see or hear for the rest of your life.

It may or may not ruin your ability to interact with them. Suddenly, when your coworker brings nothing but crunchy foods to work for a week straight, you have a “glass shattering” moment where you realize they have a very specific chewing pattern. Now, everyday when they open their chips, you can never un-hear the crunchy tune that their jaw produces.

The “glass shattering” moment also provided a sound effect to go along with the realization. It is now one I hear every time I pick up on something another person does. Does that make the HIMYM “Spoiler Alert” episode a meta-glass-shattering moment?

So, what could be more useful than the ability to stop fighting at the drop of a hat? The first time I saw this philosophy in action on How I Met Your Mother, I knew it was something I would adopt myself, and at least try and get other people to agree to use with me.

So, while I’m still working on getting all my friends and family in on the pause/unpause lifestyle, I implement it in so many ways in my day to day being. Sometimes I’m writing an article that just isn’t turning out how I’d hoped…pause. I’ll put my clothes away first while watching old Bones episodes. Ahh, that’s better…unpause. Back to work. How can this not be something everyone uses every day?

I also utilize this one very sneakily. If I can unwittingly get my siblings to pause in the middle of a fight by distracting them with shiny things, tasty snacks, and/or a well timed joke, I go for it. Sometimes I just need a break from all the squabbling and nonsense.

I am grateful to How I Met Your Mother, and Lily and Marshall specifically, for introducing the joy of pausing and unpausing in my life. Now I shall never trudge through projects until the end in one long period again.

What ‘How I Met Your Mother’ philosophies are still ruling your life?

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